Days of Adrien
by MISS.SUNNYBAUDELAIRE
Summary: My story for Adrien Agreste Appreciation Week! Day 2 (Emotions): Adrien is excited to finally go out on a date with Ladybug, but the night doesn't go as he planned.
1. Modeling

**Here's my first fanfiction for Adrien Agreste Appreciation Week! I'll be posting more fics for AAAW as a part of this story, and a few of them will probably be connected if not all of them. :)**

 **I kinda rushed to get it done, so it's probably not right, but I feel it turned out how I wanted for the most part.**

 **Anyway, here it is! Hope you like it!**

 _ **Modeling**_

"Look, there he is!"

"It's Adrien!"

"Did you see his pictures in the "Young, Hot, and Fresh" article? He looked _soooo_ hot!"

A brunette girl and two of her friends rushed over to Adrien, blushing and giggling. "Hey, Adrien!" They gushed. "We loved your pictures!"

Adrien gave them a polite smile, 'thank you', and waved as he continued walking down the hallway with his best friend Nino. As soon as they walked away from the girl-infested hallways and neared the classroom, Adrien's polite smile fell to reveal a more tired expression. He'd been smiling and waving at girls all morning, and his face was already starting to hurt. Modeling was fun, but he wished that people didn't treat him like celebrity because of it, like Nino did. Nino must have noticed that Adrien needed a dose of normalcy after walking down the figurative red carpet that was their school hallway because Nino stopped them right outside of their classroom and said, "Hey, man, that cool new video game that I bought online two months ago finally came in this weekend! Wanna come over and play today?"

Even though his cheeks still hurt, Adrien smiled again, this time a more grateful one. "That'd be awesome."

As they walked over to their usual seats, Adrien couldn't help thinking about how awesome of a friend Nino was. Nino didn't tease Adrien about modeling whenever he had to cancel their plans for a photoshoot his father had planned, which was something that Adrien was afraid he might do when they first started hanging out. Nino also seemed unbothered by the hordes of girls that crowded near them whenever they walked somewhere together, something that Adrien was sure any other person would try to take advantage of or get annoyed by. On top of that, Adrien _knew_ that Nino heard what the girls were saying when they walked by. Adrien _knew_ he heard those girls gushing over his latest pictures every time a new magazine issue was released (which felt like almost every day). He was worried that Nino would feel overlooked and ignored with everyone's attention always on the "young, hot, and fresh" model Adrien. Yet, Nino ignored them, and he never seemed to be the least bit affected.

"Hey, Adrien," Alya said as the boys slid into their seats. "We saw your pictures in _Bop Star!_ magazine. They looked pretty cool, right Marinette?"

Adrien looked over at Marinette, whose cheeks were a light shade of pink.

"Huh? No! Wait, I mean-uh, they were _okay_. I mean they were-"

"Great!" Alya interjected, squeezing her friend's arm. "She means they were great."

Adrien held back a chuckle. He was grateful to Marinette as well. She never seemed to make a big deal about his pictures either, or at least she never seemed like she wanted to.

"Thanks, guys," he said, turning back around to face Nino, who looked like he wanted to say something, but settled against it, resting his chin in his hands with a deep frown on his face.

"Nino? You okay?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nino mumbled.

It was clearly a lie, but the teacher began class before Adrien could figure what was _really_ bothering Nino.

The only thing he could think of was how Alya and Marinette brought up his pictures. A knot formed in his stomach as Adrien realized that Nino was finally feeling the repercussions of being his friend.

When lunch came around, Adrien found a seat next to Nino in an isolated corner of the cafeteria. He looked even more downtrodden.

"All right, man. What's up?" Adrien asked.

"Nothing, man. Just tired," he answered. His voice was so convincing that if Adrien couldn't see his face, he would've believed him.

Adrien went straight for what he was sure he problem was. Unable to look at his friend as he said this, he looked down, sighed and said, "Look, Nino, I know I get a lot of attention from girls whenever we're together, but I want you to know that that doesn't mean anything, you know? They just don't know that you're way cooler than me."

"Huh? What are you talking about, dude?"

Adrien looked to see his friend looking more confused than upset now. "Well, isn't that why you're upset? Because I get all the attention?"

Nino snorted. "No way! I don't care that you have a horde of fangirls. They're _your_ problem." He flashed a smirk, showing the regular Nino for just a moment. Adrien normally would've laughed at that joke, but he was too set on getting down to the problem to be amused.

"Well, then what is it?"

Nino looked reluctant to speak, pursing his lips and glancing to the side.

"Itsalya," he mumbled.

Adrien cocked his head to the side. "Wait, what?"

Nino sighed and spoke louder. "I said 'it's Alya'."

"Alya?" Adrien repeated in confusion. If he didn't care about all the other girls that complimented him over his pictures, then why did it matter if Alya did?

Realization hit him like a slap in the face. "Wait! You _like_ Al-"

"Shh!" Nino interrupted, waving his hands in front of Adrien's face. "Don't say it so loud, dude! Someone might hear." He looked around as he said this to make sure no one was close enough to hear it.

Adrien pushed Nino's hands down. "When did this happen? I thought you still liked Marinette!"

Nino shook his head. "When Alya and I got locked in the cage that one time, we found out we had a lot in common, and she's actually a really cool chick."

Adrien's eyes widened. "That was months ago! And nothing else happened?"

Nino shook his, looking back down at the ground. "I wanna ask her out, but whenever I think about it, I feel like throwing up."

"Come on, Nino," Adrien said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You should totally ask her out! Alya is way cool. Don't let your nerves scare you away from her."

Nino shook his head. "No way, man. I just can't do it. If she rejects me, then I'll be so embarrassed."

"If she rejects you, then she's missing out, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try," Adrien said with a supportive smile. "You just need confidence."

Nino scoffed. "Easy for you to say."

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked, feeling slightly offended.

"You're a _model_ , man. Girls flock to you. You don't have to worry if someone likes you or not."

Adrien was about to protest, but then he realized that Nino was right (well, almost if he didn't count his crush on the elusive Ladybug). Adrien had his confidence built for him by other people alway telling him how great he looked and how talented he was. Adrien didn't need to worry about rejection because girls always fawned over him (except Ladybug, of course, but that's a different kind of situation).

Whether Adrien wanted to admit it or not, he wasn't a normal teenage guy. Nino was, and that meant Nino had to put a fair amount of dignity on the line to ask someone out just like the rest of the normal teenage guys at their school did.

"Don't worry, man," Adrien said. "I'll think of something that will help you out."

Nino shook his head. "I don't think anything can. Unless you can turn me into a model, that is."

Adrien knew Nino wasn't being a serious, but it gave him an idea.

"Uh, Adrien, why are you smiling at me like that? Should I be scared?" Nino asked, leaning away from Adrien.

Adrien ignored his question. "Nino, are you free this Saturday?"

* * *

"Uh, Adrien? I don't know about this, man," Nino said, looking down at the suit the workers had shoved him in. "These pants come up kinda high."

"That's just the style the company's going for," Adrien said as he fastened the last button his own suit and led Nino to stand in front of the deep blue background they'd be taking pictures in front of.

"It's also pretty tight. Maybe I shouldn't do this," Nino said, staring nervously at the camera.

"Don't let it bother you, man. Let it inspire you to do all the _tight_ moves," Adrien said, nudging Nino in his side. Nino gulped.

"I'll help you," Adrien said. He turned to the photographer. "Carson, put on one of the songs I sent."

Carson turned on a radio, and Nino's favorite rap song started blasting through a pair of speakers.

"Dude, this is my _song!"_ Nino exclaimed, already feeling pumped up and starting to step in time to the beat.

"I know!" Adrien smiled. "Is this more your style now?"

Nino nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, let's do this!"

And so the the modeling began.

Adrien and Nino posed back to back with their arms crossed, a smouldering expression on both of their faces. Another picture had Nino and Adrien standing on their toes like Micheal Jackson.

They got fedoras and interlocked arms to place each other's hats on for one picture, then they tossed the fedoras in the air for another.

But out of all the pictures they took, Adrien and Nino later decided that the very last one was both of their favorites. It was a picture that was taken during the middle of a very fun pop song they both loved. Adrien was dabbing to it while Nino was whipping, and the photographer snapped the perfect picture of them doing it simultaneously.

It was the most fun Adrien had ever had while modeling.

* * *

"Are you ready for the pictures to go live?" Adrien asked Nino later that night as they sat by Adrien's computer desk.

"I don't know, dude," Nino said, nervously tapping his foot on the floor. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. What if Alya thinks I look stupid?"

Adrien shook his head. "Not possible. You were amazing! Oh, Carson just sent me the email! Ready to see your pictures online?"

Nino covered his face. "Not really."

Adrien clicked on a link in the email and scrolled through the pictures that came up. He smiled in amazement. "Nino, _look_."

Nino uncovered his face and reluctantly looked at the screen. His eyes widened when he saw the pictures, his jaw dropping slightly. He stared at the pictures with wide eyes.

They had turned out way better than he ever thought they could.

* * *

"Look, there they are!"

"Did you see them modeling the new Agreste line?"

"They were so _hot!_ "

"I didn't know Nino could model!"

A group of three blushing girls came up to Adrien and Nino as they were walking towards their classroom saying, "Hey, we really loved your pictures, Nino! Yours too, Adrien."

Nino looked surprised. "What?"

"Yeah, you looked so cool!" said one of the girls."

Not quite over his initial shock, Nino gave them a smile that turned out crooked. "Oh, thanks!"

Adrien pushed himself forward to start walking again. "Thank you, ladies, but my model-in-training has a class to attend to. Gotta be smart to dress smart."

The girls giggled as the boys left them behind in the hallway.

Nino stopped at the threshold of the classroom and hid back on the other side of the wall. "Alya's in there! Do you think she saw the pictures?"

"Of course," Adrien said, flashing his friend an encouraging smile. "Come on." He led the way into the classroom, and Nino followed behind reluctantly.

He saw Marinette and Alya chatting away at their desks. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to his sat in front of Alya. Marinette was the first to notice him.

When she saw him, she gave Alya a nudge and said, "Hey, Nino! We saw your pictures. You looked so awesome!"

Alya looked over at Nino and smiled. "Yeah, Nino! You were looking _fly_. I didn't know you had a model in you."

Adrien cleared his throat and nudged Nino's arm. "Isn't there something you want to say to Alya, Nino?"

Nino blushed and began to stammer, looking everywhere but at Alya. "Ah, well, you see…"

He finally glanced at Adrien. Adrien tried to give him a look that said, "Go for it! Be confident!". It must've worked because Nino straightened up and looked at Alya with determination.

"Alya," Nino said with a strong voice. "Will you go out on a date with me?"

Alya blushed immediately, and her jaw dropped a little in surprise. Next to her, Marinette was trying to cover her excited smile with her hands.

Adrien had his fingers crossed behind his back, praying for good luck. Finally, Alya seemed to snap out of her surprise.

"Yeah!" Alya said with an even bigger smile than before. "That'd be so fun!"

Adrien let out the breath of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and he slumped back into his chair.

"Oh, okay, I understa-wait. You said yes?" Nino asked in disbelief.

"Duh! I've been waiting forever for you to ask." Alya said. "Hey, can we take a picture so I can post this on my blog? I'm _so_ excited!"

"U-uh, yeah," Nino stuttered, still stuck in a stupor of surprise.

As they took their picture, Adrien looked back at Marinette, who was admiring the new couple.

"It's about time, isn't it?" Adrien said to her.

Marinette jumped when he spoke to her. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, it is."

Looking back at the couple, Adrien said, "Maybe it's about time _I_ do something like that."

"Y-you mean...a-ask someone out?" Marinette asked.

Adrien shrugged. "Maybe."

He turned back around to his desk without looking back at Marinette to see how red her face had become.

* * *

 **If there is anything I want in this world, it's to see a picture of Adrien dabbing while Nino is whipping right next to him. xD**

 **Thanks for reading! If you'd like to be a wonderful person and do me a super huge favor, please leave a review and tell me what you thought!**

 **Later! :)**


	2. Emotions

**Late-ish update, but here is my story for Day 2: Emotions! This was a lot of fun for me to write, so I hope you like it! :)**

 **This is connected to the previous chapter "Modeling", but it can be read on its own as well.**

 _ **Emotions**_

Adrien looked like he was watching the sunset through his giant window, but his mind was somewhere else. Ever since he had helped his best friend Nino to muster up the courage to ask out Alya, Adrien had been arguing with himself on whether or not he should follow his own advice with Ladybug.

He'd flirted with her endlessly as Chat Noir, but when it came to confessing his true feelings, his heart sped up, and he felt like he could barely breathe. Even planning to confess his love to her the last Valentine's Day was difficult. After the whole akuma situation, his courage was gone, and he couldn't bring himself to try again.

He let out a long sigh.

"Don't tell me. Something _bugging_ you?"

" _Plagg_."

Plagg groaned and flew in front of Adrien. "Come on, I'm getting sick of this love sick thing. You weren't much fun before, but now you're just flat out _boring_."

"Shut up, Plagg," Adrien said with an eye roll, standing up from his couch to set his arm on the window, resting his head on said arm. "I've got a real problem."

"Oh, boo-hoo," Plagg said. "You're too nervous to ask out Ladybug. Give me a break."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "You just don't get it."

"Why do you have to focus so much on _Ladybug_ anyway, when you can have any other girl you want?" Plagg asked.

"Because no one else is like Ladybug," Adrien sighed.

"You're hopeless."

Adrien was about to argue, but what sounded like a sonic boom exploded from outside. He stumbled back and looked all from the window, trying to see what may have been caused it.

A steel-black centaur carrying a bow and arrow charged down the street was so fast that Adrien almost missed him, but the stampede of horses behind him was hard to miss.

"Oh, man," Adrien muttered, his heart racing. He could already tell that this one was going to be a doosey.

"Man, we can't get a single day off, can we?" Plagg complained.

Just then, Ladybug swung past Adrien's window on her yoyo-straight towards the centaur and his stampede. Adrien's heart started racing faster for an entirely different reason than before.

"Come on, Plagg! My lady is going to need me. _Claws out!_ "

* * *

Adrien's prediction was right. The centaur, who called himself the Centaurion, put up a tough fight. Running at super speed, shooting arrows at them, and a constant stampede of horses running towards them was enough to wear them both out for the next week.

But Ladybug's lucky charm, well, it worked like a charm! It was a lasso she used to capture Centaurion while Chat used his cataclysm to turn the ground into a pit beneath in front of the horses so they would all in. By the way, they all turned out to be people that got turned into horses by Centaurion. Go figure.

The fight was over, and Centaurion, also known as John when he had been freed from the akuma, had set things right with his brother, the person who had originally gotten him angry.

Ladybug was just about to leap away with her yoyo when Chat put a hand on her shoulder. "Ladybug, wait!"

Ladybug turned around, looking up at him with the blue bell eyes he loved so much. "What is it Chat Noir?"

His heart was in his throat, and the butterflies in his stomach morphed into a roller coaster. He suddenly knew what Nino had been talking about the other day. "Uh, I, uh-"

Ladybug's earrings beeped. She pursed her lips and began slightly bouncing from to foot. "I don't mean to rush you, Chat _,_ but you've got about ten seconds."

"Let's hang out tonight!" Chat blurted out, covering his mouth as soon as the words left his lips.

Ladybug froze. "Hang out? Like a-"

"Date?" Chat finished. His voice was so high, he might as well have sucked in helium. He continued quickly. "Well, if you want, but we're friends, and we never hang out, so let's hang out, it could be fun, and we get to know each other more, and-"

Ladybug's earrings beeped again, the last spot disappearing. She yelped and got her yoyo ready again. Speaking quickly to get away, she said, "Sure, meet me at the bakery, _bye!_ " And just like that, she was gone.

Chat stared in the direction she'd gone even after he couldn't see her anymore. He had felt weak from the fight before, but as realization settled in, a new course of adrenaline shot through his body.

He couldn't contain himself, and he leaped in the air. "SHE SAID YES!"

His ring beeped to blank, halting his momentary celebration. He ran to find somewhere to transform back into Adrien.

* * *

Adrien felt happier than the last Christmas he had before his father told him there was no Santa, and then gave him a pen as a present. He was fueled by his excitement as he sprinted down the street, looking for the perfect shop to buy a gift for Ladybug from. He ran into every shop that even remotely looked like it had something Ladybug would want, while Plagg gave his two cents on why every store he went into was a dumb idea.

He scanned through a jewelry shop ("She already has earrings."), a bookstore ("You don't even know if she likes to read!"), a souvenir shop ("I don't think she'd appreciate a miniature version of _herself_."), and finally, a dress boutique.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Plagg groaned from inside Adrien's jacket. "This is your weirdest choice yet."

Adrien glared at him. "Why do you care anyway? I thought you hated this love stuff."

"I care because you're going to make yourself look stupid, duh," Plagg said a matter of factly. "And then when you're all embarrassed, I'll have to listen to you cry about how embarrassed you are."

"Fine," Adrien said. "Since you're suddenly an expert on gifts, what should I get her?"

" _Easy_. What do girls and ladybugs have in common?"

Adrien shook his head. "What kind of question is that?"

Plagg flew out of Adrien's jacket and pointed to the floral shop across the street.

"They both like _f_ _lowers._ "

* * *

Adrien forced himself to walk at a normal pace when he left the flower shop as not to ruin the bouquet of roses he bought. The sun had completely set now, so he'd been lucky to catch the store right before it closed for the night.

Along the sidewalk, the streetlights glowed a bright yellow.

 _Perfect for a romantic evening stroll._ Adrien couldn't help smiling at the thought. As he neared the bakery, the knots in his stomach grew tighter and tighter, and he could feel his hands and legs starting to shake. He was so nervous, but it was the best kind of nervous because he was going to see Ladybug.

Adrien was a few of blocks away from the bakery when he decided to hide in the shadows of a building to transform into Chat Noir. He always felt more confident this way, but tonight was different. Whether he was Adrien of whether he was Chat didn't change the fact that he was meeting with Ladybug for what would hopefully be a date, and the nerves that came along with that was messing with the usual confidence that came from being Chat Noir. He hoped that he'd at least be able to control those nerves.

He took a single step back into the sidewalk, and he was suddenly pushed off his feet by a sudden weight and fell to the ground, the bouquet of roses rolling next to him.

He heard a gasp. "Chat Noir! I'm so sorry!"

 _Ladybug!_

His heart stopped as he turned to finally see her, and-

Marinette was on her knees next to him, looking extremely guilty.

His heart sank and drowned in the disappointment that was flooding his chest.

"I was running and I didn't see you! Are you okay?" Marinette reached out a hand to help him up, but he stopped her and said, "Don't worry about me, princess." He pushed himself to his feet and picked the bouquet off the ground. "Being a hero of Paris, I've handled much worse."

Marinette nodded, already looking anxious to leave. "Great! Well, bye!"

"Wait!" Chat called grabbing her hand before she could run away. "Why are you out here so late? It's not safe."

Marinette looked down at their hands, and she jerked hers away. "Don't worry about me! I can handle myself. Look, I've really got to get home," she said as she backed away, turning around as she did so. "So I'll just see you-"

"Why don't I walk you home?" Chat asked. Guy or girl, he didn't feel right leaving any civilian to walk the streets alone at night when anything could happen. Besides, he was headed in that direction anyway, and he told her so. "I'm meeting Ladybug at the bakery anyway. It's no biggie."

Marinette didn't stop speed walking. "Nope, I'm good! See ya!"

Then an idea struck him. "Well, maybe you could help _me_."

Marinette froze and looked back at him. He couldn't tell what she thought of it because she's moved so far from the streetlight. "I could use some girl advice."

She was quiet for a moment before answering with a resigning sign. "Sure, come on."

Chat jogged happily up to where Marinette stood waiting for him, and they started walking down the block together.

"What are the flowers for?"

"Couldn't you tell? They're for Ladybug." Voicing it out loud for the first time made Chat blush. "You don't think it's too much right? I really wanted to give her something nice. She always puts everyone else first, so I want to do something for her. Do you think she'll like them?"

Marinette studied the bouquet of flowers in awe as they walked. "You..you got her those red roses?"

Chat sighed, thinking her comment meant something negative. "Aw, man, it's too much isn't it?"

Marinette shook her head. "No! No, I just...I knew you two were a team, but I didn't know you cared about her _that_ much."

"Actually, I care about her way more. I'd like to get whatever what she wants, but I just settled for this because I didn't want to scare her. I don't want to look stupid either. Do I look stupid?"

Marinette shook her head. She was looking down at her feet now, and he could tell by the look on her face when they passed under a streetlight that something was wrong.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Chat smirked.

She didn't even crack a smile. "It's nothing."

"Come on," Chat nudged her arm. After a moment's pause, he asked. "Is it a boy?"

"No!" Marinette blurted out, making Chat jump.

He raised an eyebrow. He had just been teasing. He didn't expect that sort of reaction.

She sighed. "Yes." She crossed her arms over her chest, and Chat notice that one of her hands was balled into a fist, as if she was carrying something that she didn't want to drop.

"Does it have to do with whatever you're holding?"

Marinette's fist became tighter, and she looked reluctant to answer, but she did anyway. "Yes."

Hearing that she had her own love problem, Chat immediately wanted to help her in anyway that he could. Marinette was his friend, and he was sure he could relate to any love problem she might have. Besides, she was one of the few people at school that didn't treat him like a celebrity. This was the least he could do to thank her, even if she didn't know who he really was.

"If you want, I could give you some advice too," Chat said with a friendly grin.

Marinette didn't even look up. "I don't think any advice could help me. I'm just... _stuck_."

Chat shrugged. "Well, then I could just listen if you want to talk about it."

"No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Okay, that's fi-"

"Ugh, I don't know what to do!" Marinette exclaimed, making Chat jump again. "All year long I've had a crush on this guy that I can barely talk to without looking like an idiot, and I've been trying so hard to get him to notice me, and nothing really _works._ Then I find out this _other_ guy likes me way more than I thought he did, and I've just never noticed! So now I'm guilty because he's so sweet, but I still really like the first guy _so much_ , and I even made him this!"

Marinette opened her hand to reveal a silver chain with a black guitar pick hanging from it. A white lightning bolt was etched in the center of the pick.

"That looks awesome," Chat said in awe. He'd been wanting a guitar pick necklace himself, and he even mentioned it to Nino the day before. "You really made that?"

Marinette closed her hand and crossed her arms again. "Yeah, but now I don't know if I should give it to him. I don't what I should do at all anymore."

Chat placed a supporting hand on her shoulder. "I think you should do what your heart tells you to do. If you want to give him that necklace, then go for it. He'd be crazy not to accept a gift from someone like you. You're amazing, Marinette."

Marinette finally looked up at him and smiled just as they passed under another streetlight. Her big, blue bell eyes startled him. They were beautiful, but they were also so scarily familiar that they surprised him.

 _Ladybug has eyes like that._

Chat froze in his tracks, remembering his original mission. He looked up and saw the bakery was right across the street, yet Ladybug was nowhere to be found.

Marinette's smile fell. "Chat? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he answered absentmindedly, still looking around for some sort of evidence that Ladybug was nearby.

Still looking around, Chat placed a hand on Marinette's upper back and began gently guiding her across the street. "Yeah, let's go."

They walked in silence to the bakery. Chat was mostly quiet because he was still looking around for Ladybug. He was already late in getting there. Was she going to even later? Did she arrive before he did and leave when he didn't show up at the same time? Or, and Chat dreaded the answer to this question, was she not coming at all?"

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Marinette said, pulling Chat from his thoughts.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm home now, and you've got a date. I'll be heading up to my room now, so thanks for walking me home!" She turned to unlock the door to the bakery.

"Why don't I give you a lift up?" Chat asked, extending his staff. His offer wasn't completely generous. He was hoping that he'd be able to see Ladybug from the top of the building.

Marinette shook her head. "No, that's okay."

"Come on," Chat said. "It's late, and you're probably tired. It'll save you the energy."

Marinette stopped fiddling with the lock and turned around. Looking at him as if contemplating his offer, she bit her lip and took a step closer. "I guess it won't hurt. I am pretty tired…"

Chat instructed her to wrap her arms around his neck. As soon as she did, he extended his staff so it was high enough to reach the top of the building. Chat tried not to think too much about the fact that he was holding one girl while he had roses for a different girl in his other hand. He also tried not to think about how nice it felt to have her holding onto him the way that she was. He tried to focus on how she smelled like lavender instead, but that turned out to be a bad idea because then he really wanted to sniff her hair.

 _Ladybug smells like lavender too._

The staff swung forward, and Chat leaped down to the floor of her balcony with Marinette's balcony with her still holding on.

Marinette looked up at him with those startling eyes again. It gave him a bittersweet feeling to be looking at them. They were beautiful, and they reeled him in so much that he could barely remember what they were doing.

"Chat?"

He was pulled out of the water, and the bitter part came, bitter because she wasn't the person she kept reminding him of. He realized that he had his free arm around her shoulders now that the staff was short in his hand again, and he quickly pulled it away.

"Sorry," he said, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

Marinette let go of him and took a step back. "It's, fine. Thanks, Chat."

Chat nodded and looked up at the sky. The moon was almost directly overhead now. Minutes were ticking by quickly, and Ladybug was still nowhere to be seen.

It was hard for him to accept. A knot was in his throat, and his heart felt like it had been snapped in half.

Ladybug wasn't coming.

He sighed and looked down at the bouquet of roses in his hand. Having been dropped, it didn't look as perfect as it did when he first bought it, but it was still pretty.

He looked up at Marinette, who was standing there nervously. The flowers had been meant for a beautiful ladybug, but Marinette seemed like she could use something nice too. Besides, Ladybug probably wouldn't want them from him anyway. He stretched out his arm to hand her the bouquet.

She frowned in confusion. "What are you doing? Those are for-"

"You," he finished. His voice was quiet because he felt like he might choke and start crying from heartbreak if he spoke any louder.

Marinette looked at with wide eyes. "But what about Ladybug?"

Chat shrugged. "She's not coming," he answered, his voice cracking on the last word. "Please, take it."

"Well, she could be!" Marinette argued. "What if on her way here, she had to save a cat from a tree, prevent a car accident, and stop a burglar, so she had to recharge somewhere for a while before she could retransform?" As she spoke, her arms flailed in dramatic gestures to act out the things she was describing.

Chat chuckled at her actions. He couldn't help thinking that she was terribly cute. Unfortunately, when he allowed himself to laugh, he accidentally allowing his eyes to water. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand in a way that looked like he was just doing it out of fatigue instead of tears. He cleared his throat to end the laughter. "It's a reach. Even if that was true, that just means that tonight wasn't meant to happen for us. Please, take it. You deserve something nice."

Marinette didn't move for a long moment. Chat guessed she was waiting for him to take it back, but he wasn't going to. When he guessed that she realized that, she reached for the flowers. Their fingers grazed over each other for a split second as the bouquet moved from Chat's hand to Marinette's.

"Thank you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Chat nodded. Without a word, he turned around and prepared to take his leave.

"Wait, Chat Noir!"

Chat looked back to see Marinette gently placing the bouquet on a table, and then hurrying over to him, holding out her hand. "I want you to have this."

 _The guitar pick necklace._ Chat frowned and shook his head. "No, I can't. That's for-"

"You," she finished with a smile. "You deserve something nice too. Besides, I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me anyway. I think it's better if you have it."

Chat's heartbreak was put on hold as he heard this. In fact, he felt like his heart was being glued back together with the way it was weakly fluttering in his chest.

He studied her to see if she would take it back, but the smile she was giving him was too sweet for that to be true.

He smiled weakly and took the necklace, immediately clasping it around his neck. He held the guitar pick over his hand and looked down at it.

"It's perfect," he said quietly. When looked up at her, and saw her smiling up at him so kindly, his smile grew bigger, which he didn't think was possible since he had just been heartbroken. He got down on one knee and took Marinette's hand and kissed the top of it. Unlike the first time, she didn't pull it away.

"Thank you, princess."

He noticed the blush growing on her cheeks, but she kept smiling. "You're welcome, Chat Noir."

He stood up and walked over to the railing and hopped onto it. "I'll see you again, soon," he said, extending his staff.

"I'm sure you will," she said. "Goodnight, Chat Noir."

"Sleep tight, princess."

And with that, he leaped off the railing and into the dark night

* * *

A conflicted Adrien plopped down on his bed that night.

"Don't tell me," Plagg yawned. "You made things worse, and now you're in love with Ladybug _and_ Marinette."

Adrien yawned as well, pulling his covers over him. "I'm not in love with her. She's just...nice."

"Okay, whatever you say, Romeo, just let me get some sleep," Plagg said, curling up in a ball at the end of the bed.

Unlike Plagg, Adrien couldn't sleep that night. He was still hurt that Ladybug never showed, but there was also something about Marinette that just made him _so happy._ He couldn't place what it was, but it was enough to help him to mostly forget the heartbreak, but it was also enough to keep him thinking about her all night.

* * *

 **There it is! I hope it wasn't too cheesy near the end there. :p If you'd leave a review telling me what you thought, you'd be doing me a HUGE favor, and I'd be EVER so greatful! ^-^ Thanks so much for reading!**


	3. Family

**Ahhhh I slept through Day 3, and I feel really bad about it, but here it is anyway. Sorry!**

 _ **Family**_

"This is Gabriel Agreste's voicemail. Leave me a message, and I might consider getting back to you. _Beep._ "

"Hi, Dad. It's me again. Just wanted to make sure you're still coming, you know, like you said you would. This was your idea in the first place, so…it would just mean a lot if you came okay? Uh, see you, I guess."

Adrien hung up the phone after leaving a seventh message in a row to his dad. He'd been holding back his emotions all day, and they were starting to spill over. After his father made him practice on the piano for three hours to perfect his already great skills on the piano for three hours a day just so he could represent his dad at his school talent show. Yet, his dad couldn't even bother to show up.

Adrien's grip around his phone tightened. The only reason he was even going to do this was for his dad, and he wouldn't even answer his phone to tell Adrien that he was or wasn't coming.

"Adrien, the director of the show is looking for you," Nino said as he barged into the locker room. When he saw Adrien standing there with his back to him, head down, he knew that something was wrong. "Adrien? What's going on, man?"

My dad cares less about me and more about how I can make him look good. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied, shoving his phone in his pocket. He turned around and walked towards the door. Patting Nino's shoulder on the way out, but avoiding his gaze, he said, "Let's go man."

"Yeah, okay," Nino muttered, following him out and not believing him for a second. Nino knew Adrien way too well to _not_ know when something was bothering him, specifically the one thing that bothered Adrien the most. But he didn't say anything because Adrien never wanted to talk about it. Instead, he just followed Adrien all the way to the backstage of the auditorium, thinking of a way to help him feel better.

"There they are!" Alya tapped on Marinette's shoulder and pointed at the boys walking towards them.

Marinette turned around and greeted them with a smile. "Oh, you found him!"

"We're so excited to see you play!" Alya exclaimed.

Adrien didn't take his eyes off the ground and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, thanks, guys."

Alya and Marinette exchanged confused glances, and then looked at Nino for some sort of explanation. It was then that Nino had his idea.

"Hey, guys," Nino said, "let's leave him alone to get prepared all right?"

Alya and Marinette still looked confused, but they agreed and started walking off to another room.

"See you in a few, all right, man?" Nino asked, following the girls.

Without a word, Adrien nodded, pulled out his music sheets, and sat down to focus on reading them. With one last sorry glance back at his friend, Nino hurried out to explain his idea to the girls.

A few minutes later, Nino came running over back to Adrien with a huge smile on his face and, Alya and Marinette giggling excitedly behind him.

Adrien looked up from his sheets and frowned. "What's going on?"

"Whaddya say we get out of here, man?" Nino said with excitement. "Marinette says there's a fair a few blocks away from here, so let's go!"

 _A fair?_ Adrien had never been to a fair, although he's always wanted to. He'd heard about the one nearby, but he knew his dad would never let him go. Besides, his dad would be pissed if he knew Adrien ditched the show to have some real fun for once.

"No thanks," Adrien forced himself to say. "My dad said I have to do this."

Nino pursed his lips. "Okay, but what do _you_ want to do?"

"I…I want…" he glanced at Marinette, who gave him an encouraging smile. "We just want you to be happy, Adrien."

Happy. Here were his three best friends trying to make ihm happy while he was being ignored by his own father. Anger filled up his chest. He was angry at his dad for ignoring him, and he was angry at his dad for using Adrien to make himself look better.

Then something snapped in him, but it wasn't his anger. It was the chain he'd let himself be stuck in all his life as he followed his dad's orders all the time. He wanted to be free. He felt like he _deserved_ to be free. But most of all, he felt like he deserved to be happy, and his friends were the ones that wanted to help him that, not his dad.

Adrien crumpled up his music sheets and threw them in the trash. A giant weight lifted off his shoulders.

"Yeah," he said as he stood up. "Let's get out of here."

Within the hour, they were running around at the fair, having the time of their lives. They were going on rides Adrien had never been on, and they were giving him different kinds of junk food that he'd never been allowed to try before. Marinette even won him a stuffed cat at one of the games.

All in all, it was the first time he'd ever felt at like he had a family.

 **I kind of crammed this in an hour, so hopefully it's not too bad! Sorry for any error, but I'm too tired to do it correctly. :/ I tried.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


End file.
